


The Gift

by Vagabond



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Hannibal regrets what he has done kind of, Hannigram if you squint, M/M, Opposites Attract, just kidding Hannibal never really regrets anything does he, kind of spoilers if you haven't watched the series?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 12:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1267303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vagabond/pseuds/Vagabond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Though he was loath to admit it, it was what kept him moving toward Will like a moth to a flame. The other man had a curious light that Hannibal wanted to probe, explore, understand, and eventually put out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first thing I've written for this fandom. I have a psych degree and Hannibal Lecter has fascinated me as a character for as long as I can remember...so of course I had to write something about how psychologically opposite Will and Hannibal are. Short, but I hope y'all enjoy.

Hannibal and Will were like fire and ice, left and right, the spiciest of Indian curries and vanilla ice cream. If anyone put them on a spectrum, Hannibal would be at one end and Will as far away as possible on the other. 

Will felt more than any man ever should. He could not just look at a person in a room, he had to become them. Extreme empathy often led to an unwelcome invasion of his head space. On a train he would feel the irritation of the bickering couple sitting to the left of him, or the deep contentment of the young woman engrossed in a good novel in front. Anyone within the perimeter of his senses would be absorbed, even if only slightly, and Will would feel what they felt. 

Hannibal knew this because he’d observed it. He’d been observing Will a great deal and the young man continued to fascinate him. In that empathetic mind there was a man who could easily become a killer simply by being near one, or one’s work. After all, Hannibal had seen it. Even before the encephalitis and even more-so after the infection had been cleared, Hannibal saw what Will was capable of. 

Though he was loath to admit it, it was what kept him moving toward Will like a moth to a flame. The other man had a curious light that Hannibal wanted to probe, explore, understand, and eventually put out. He wasn’t overly fond of his thoughts about putting it out but it was a possible or, more so, probable outcome of their arrangement, because while Will drew in the things of the world around them, Hannibal pushed them out. 

Will had a deep, never-ending pool of empathy where Hannibal had none. It certainly was not for lack of trying on his part. He’d attempted, time and time again, to understand on an emotional level what another person was going through. Even after he understood what he was, every client he saw during practicum was another chance for him to defy his lack of empathy. He would grasp at the emotional state of others and attempt to turn ‘sad’ and ‘frustrated’ and ‘depressed’ from the stark, clinical words they were to the feelings that seemed to come so easily to everyone other than him. 

The feelings never reached him so he learned to fake them. He learned to adjust his features to smile when it was appropriate, to look sad when a client was sad, and to appear anxious in stressful situations. Hannibal had taught himself to touch, hug, kiss, and comfort even though there were no emotions behind the actions. He could easily conform to social standards and rarely ever slipped, except around Will. 

Perhaps what drew Hannibal to Will, above all else, was the way their gifts and deficiencies complimented one another. Who could be more perfect for a man who feels nothing than one who feels everything? Hannibal feasted on the range of emotions Will pulled in and somehow he had managed to become Will’s anchor in the midst of it all thanks to his own lack of feelings. 

Yet as he sat in his dark, empty office, he felt less like a useful anchor and more like the monster he knew himself to be. 

Hannibal almost felt sad and silently thanked Will for the gift.


End file.
